The United States is providing an additional $20 million in emergency food assistance for Iraq to address the humanitarian crisis resulting from the ongoing conflict, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart E. Jones announced today.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Thomas O. Melia will travel to Kosovo, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina March 1 to March 9, 2016. This will be Assistant Administrator Melia's first visit to the Balkan region in his capacity as Assistant Administrator.

A new vaginal ring providing sustained release of the antiretroviral (ARV) dapivirine was shown to help reduce the chance of HIV infection during vaginal sex among women ages 18 and older. USAID, through the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, provided $25 million in support for the trial and ring licensure.

USAID Assistant Administrator Paige Alexander and Acting Assistant Administrator Thomas H. Staal will travel to the 2016 Supporting Syria and the Region Conference that will be held in London on February 4. Assistant Administrator Alexander and Acting Assistant Administrator Staal will join the U.S. delegation to the conference led by Secretary of State John Kerry.

The U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (USAID/ASHA) announced $23 million in funding to U.S. organizations and their overseas partners to support construction projects and to purchase equipment for 15 hospitals and clinics, 6 secondary schools, 16 universities, and 1 library. This year's projects, spanning 25 countries, are funded through a competitive annual award and directly support schools, libraries and medical centers outside the United States that advance innovation and best practices and build bridges between citizens of the United States and other countries.

New aid helps address the ongoing humanitarian crisis and the impact of El Niño

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Gayle Smith announced an additional $97 million in emergency assistance for Ethiopia today, to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis resulting from the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Gayle Smith will lead the U.S. delegation to the 26th Annual African Union Summit. Joining the delegation will be Department of State Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Tom Malinowski, National Security Council Senior Director for Africa Cathy Byrne, USAID Assistant Administrator for Africa Linda Etim, U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Don Booth, and Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa Tom Perriello.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partners have announced 16 prize winners under the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge. USAID will award $10,000 to each winner and provide technical support to help them advance their solutions to stamp out illegal trade in wildlife. Winners are eligible to compete for one of four Grand Prizes worth as much as $500,000. USAID will use Grand Prizes to target and invest in the most promising solutions.

On January 28-29, U.S. Government officials, African energy experts, and private sector companies focused on advancing access to electricity in Africa will convene for the Powering Africa Summit. Power Africa partners will open the Summit with an in-depth conversation about the Power Africa Roadmap, which outlines how they will reach President Obama's goals of adding 30,000 new megawatts of cleaner electricity generation and connecting 60 million homes and businesses to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. They will also discuss the Power Africa Tracking Tool (PATT), a mobile app that provides previously unavailable data to increase transparency and drive more deals in the African energy sector.

On Monday January 25, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Gayle Smith will host a discussion with honored guests, President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim and President of the African Development Bank Group Akinwumi Adesina, on the future of power on the African continent. U.S. National Security Advisor Ambassador Susan Rice will give concluding remarks. The event will also feature the launch of a Power Africa Roadmap that will outline the way forward for the initiative.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator Ariel Pablos-Mendez will visit Bali, Indonesia January 25 - January 28 for the 2016 International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP).

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Gayle Smith will travel to Davos, Switzerland from January 20-23 to attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and meet with leaders from government, business, and civil society.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Asia Jonathan Stivers will travel to Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Laos from January 20-29, 2016, to oversee U.S. development initiatives ranging from health to economic development to governance as well as meet with USAID Asia mission directors, government officials, implementing partners, and civil society leaders.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced two new partnerships today to add resources and cutting-edge technologies to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). Janssen, the pharmaceutical arm of Johnson & Johnson, announced a $15-20 million pledge as part of a new partnership with USAID to combat Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB). USAID will also partner with Cepheid, a maker of molecular systems and tests, to speed diagnosis of MDR-TB through increased access to rapid, accurate diagnostic tools.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at USAID released a report today on USAID's Cuban Civil Society Support Program. The OIG found that USAID has already completed action on several of its recommendations. The Agency will complete action on the remaining recommendations by July 16, 2016.

New aid will address the humanitarian crisis and the impact of El Niño

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced an additional $88 million in humanitarian assistance for Ethiopia today to address the humanitarian crisis resulting from the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon.The additional aid brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for Ethiopia to more than $435 million since the start of fiscal year 2015 and increases funding for nutrition, water, food, sanitation, and hygiene support.